Hoof-pad.



No. 854,034. I PATENTED MAY 21, 1967.

, F. s. HANDY & W. J. ,HIGKEY.

HOOP PAD.

' APPLICATION FILED FEB, 17, 1906.

ATTORNEY.

Tn: MORRIS Pzfrns ca, WASHINGTON, n. c

WITNESSES: INVENTORSk ON? MA/M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK S. HANDY AND WILLIAM J. IIIOKEY, OF BAY CITY, MICHIGAN. f

HOOF-PAD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1907.

Application filed February 17, 1906. Serial No. 301,6 78- To all whom,it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK S. HANDY and WILLiAM J. T'IIOKEY, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Bay City, in the county of Bay and Stateof Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inHoof-Pads and. we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a hoof pad and more particularly to a hoof padconstructed of felt orequivalent material, one object of which is theprovision of a cushion for the hoof of a horse, which cushion shall beabsorbent to retain. moisture to prevent the hoof from becoming dry andkeep it healthy.

To these ends our invention consists in the provision of a hoof padwhich is inexpensive in the extreme and yet highly eflicient inoperation.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is p a top plan view of a hoof padadapted to fit a bar shoe. Fig. 2 .is a similar view showing a hoof padconstructed to fit an open shoe, and Fig. 3 is a view in side elevationshowing the hoof pad applied to the hoof of a horse.

A indicates the hoof pad which is preferably constructed of a textilefabric as felt for instance, and, as will be seen from inspection ofFigs. 1 and 2, the pad is preferably shaped to conform to the horse shoewith which it is designed to be used, thus leaving the frog of the hooffully exposed to permit it to be treatedwhenever necessary.

We also preferably make the pad thicker at the heel than at the toe, asshown at (2) in order to raise the heel of the horses hoof and relievestrain on the muscles. The heels of some horses hoofs, if not supportedin this manner, are inclined to drop down and often strain the tendonsand tire the horse out much more quickly than if the heel is supportedin a raised position.

By the use of a cushioning textile material, such as felt for instance,the shoe is retained on the hoof and prevented from coming loose owingto the elasticity and expansion of the pad. When the blacksmith nailsthe shoe directly onto the hoof and clenches the nails on the outside,as is usual without the pad, the shoe frequently becomes loose owing tothe jar imparted when the horse is in motion. We have actuallydemonstrated that when our pad is interposed between the hoof and theshoe, the latter never becomes loose.'

The absorbent nature of the material of which the pad is composed issuch as to keep the hoofs moist and in healthy condition, and by reasonof its open construction, the frog of the hoof may be packed or treatedwhile the shoe remains in place, as for instance by placing the hoof ina soaking tub, the pads retaining the moisture for many hours after thehoof is removed from the tub and operating to reduce fever in the hoof.

The horse shoes run in sizes from 1 to 7, and hoof pads constructedaccording to our invention may be made in the same sizes as the horseshoes, with the bar or without and if the blacksmith is out of the exactsize or shape of hoof pad wanted, and makes a special shaped shoe, thepad can be slightly stretched or shaped to fit the shoe.

We have found our invention partlcularly adapted to use in connectionwith contracted or sore hoofs. As is well-known, horses hoofs aresubject to corns, which. may be due to the fact that the calks on oneside of the shoe have worn down more than those on the other side orhave been broken off, thus throwing the weight of the horse to one sideor the other of the hoof. By the use of our hoof pad, the unequalpressure of the horses hoof on the shoe, while not entirely equalized,is cushioned so that the formation of the corn is absolutely avoided.

In driving horses over paved or hard roads they frequently pounc and theresultant injury to the hoof which the pounding would cause is obviatedby the use of our hoof pad acting as a cushion; and furthermore the padwill absorb moisture from sprinkled streets sufficient to keep thehorses hoof soft and permit it to spread if contracted. If a horseshoofs are dry and hard they will not spread.

In applying the pad to a horses hoof, the shoe is first shaped to thehoof, the pad applied thereto and it may be riveted to the shoe as shownin the drawings at (1), either to the bar of a closed shoe or to theheel of an open shoe. This riveting, however, is not necessary, as theshoe when nailed to the hoof will retain the pad in position, the heelof the pad resting lightly upon the shoe and not being secured theretoor to the hoof when the rivet is not used. The pad and hoof can then berasped down even with theouter periphery of the shoe and the pad willwear as long or longer than the shoe. The pad rasps as smoothly as thehoof itself, an advantage not attained by various rubber pads now inuse. Our pad is easily fitted to the hoof by rasping, and is therebydistinguished from rubber and other composition pads that cannot berasped successfully and are conse quently fitted by rasping the hoof tofit the pad, rather than, as in our case, making the pad fit the hoof.

We are aware that leather pads have been used heretofore, such padscovering the entire tread of the hoof and being adapted to hold amixture of tar and oakum with which the horses hoof may be stuffed, butsuch pads are apt to become hard and brittle, keeping the hoof dry andpermitting the hoof to harden and crack. Furthermore the leather pad, ifleft in position on the hoof longer than necessary, will cause thrush.

We are also aware that heavy pads of rubber have been constructed, butour invention is much superior to rubber hoof pads since the felt willnot heat the hoof as does rubber, especially when used in summer on hotpavements. Instead, the felt hoof pad serves as a sort of insulator forthe hoof against heat and is more flexible and yielding than rubber. Therubber pads also tend to make the hoof sore and are more expensive,besides drawing the hoof and making it feverish. Then again, the rubberpad cannot be rasped down even with the edges of the shoe as can thetextile pad, as above noted.

It will thus be seen that we have devised a simple and neat, yetinexpensive absorbent elastic cushioning means adapted to be interposedbetween the shoe and hoof of a horse, and which means possessesimportant advantages over other constructions with which we arefamiliar.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new is Thecombination with a horse shoe, of a horse shoe pad composed entirely offelt and conforming in shape to the shape of the horse shoe, the centralportion being wholly cut away to expose the frog of a hoof, the heelportion of the pad being connected: by means of a bar composed of thesame material as the pad and a rivet passing through and connecting thepad to the hoof, the pad capable of being easily rasped with the shoe.

In testimony whereof we aiiix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

FRANK S. HANDY. WILLIAM J. HICKEY. Witnesses:

A. A. EAsTERLY, RALPH S. WARFIELD.

